Before we go to the recipe, an aside on Bombay Bais. A bai is a magical domestic help. She comes for a hour every day and does the dishes & laundry and cleans the house. And if you want (I do!), your bai would also cook your food. The arrangements vary, but in my case my bai shows up once in the morning, makes me breakfast, packs my lunch and usually leaves me something for dinner in the fridge. I know, I know - I have a food blog and I love to cook - but not every day, and not three times a day.
Wondering why we are discussing this? For this explains how I ended up eating my lunch for breakfast today. My bai has an easy time on weekends for I cook myself half the time. But today, I told her to make me arbi (those gnarly colacassia roots) for lunch. I don't know what the original plan for breakfast was, but it was something boring like fruit or toast. Half an hour later, I peeked in and saw this magical arbi fry cooking on the stove. Who wants fruit after that. So here's my breakfast : arbi fry and parantha.
To make Arbi fry, wash the colacassia pieces. Put them in the pressure cooker just as they are (unpeeled and whole) and parboil. I've noticed that 2-3 whistles in the cooker usually does it. Take care not to overcook at this stage. Let cool, then peel and cut into pieces.
Heat oil in a pan. Add turmeric powder, salt and ajwain. Let sizzle for a few seconds, then add arbi pieces. Let it cook unstirred on a very low heat. You need the underside to get crisp so resist the temptation to stir it too soon. After a few minutes, turn the pieces over and cook the other side.
While it finishes cooking, make the parantha. Or at least, I think that's what you do. For what I got was this plate nicely arranged already. What a nice way to start the weekend!
Wondering why we are discussing this? For this explains how I ended up eating my lunch for breakfast today. My bai has an easy time on weekends for I cook myself half the time. But today, I told her to make me arbi (those gnarly colacassia roots) for lunch. I don't know what the original plan for breakfast was, but it was something boring like fruit or toast. Half an hour later, I peeked in and saw this magical arbi fry cooking on the stove. Who wants fruit after that. So here's my breakfast : arbi fry and parantha.
To make Arbi fry, wash the colacassia pieces. Put them in the pressure cooker just as they are (unpeeled and whole) and parboil. I've noticed that 2-3 whistles in the cooker usually does it. Take care not to overcook at this stage. Let cool, then peel and cut into pieces.
Heat oil in a pan. Add turmeric powder, salt and ajwain. Let sizzle for a few seconds, then add arbi pieces. Let it cook unstirred on a very low heat. You need the underside to get crisp so resist the temptation to stir it too soon. After a few minutes, turn the pieces over and cook the other side.
While it finishes cooking, make the parantha. Or at least, I think that's what you do. For what I got was this plate nicely arranged already. What a nice way to start the weekend!
Comments
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Reemas,
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